Share via

The Welsh Assembly has splashed out £52 million to nationalise Cardiff airport after losing patience with steadily diminishing flights and passenger numbers.

Carwyn Jones, the First Minister of the Principality, announced the deal yesterday but faced criticism from across the Severn Estuary, where Bristol airport cried “foul” over the prospect of unfair state aid.

The number of travellers passing through Cardiff airport dropped 16 per cent last year to a 16-year low of 1.01 million. British Airways pulled out a decade ago and the airport has struggled to attract low-cost carriers.